Sustainable Development and Natural Resources

The book focuses on the tensions and challenges faced by emerging economies, which, although rich in natural resources, struggle to achieve economic and social development amid a global environmental crisis. An orderly demographic transition is needed to reduce the human footprint, but right now it is creating tensions in ageing societies, while still pressuring nature in the poorest areas of the world, where fertility rates remain high. If per capita consumption in emerging countries replicates the patterns of the rich ones, and the latter do not change theirs, there will be a collapse of many ecosystem services, with dire consequences for human welfare across the world. Innovation and charging the correct pricing of goods and services, reflecting their environmental costs, are critical to improve efficiency in the use of natural wealth. There are ways to deal with all these challenges, but international cooperation and strong national commitments leveraged by netter institutions are needed to prevent a chaotic resolution of the environmental crisis. Time is running out.